‘I Had to Watch It’ – Rafael Nadal Once Detailed How Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator Warmed Him Up for a Crucial Wimbledon Encounter

It was the Wimbledon Championships in 2008. Rafael Nadal was entering the tournament as one of the hot favorites for the title, along with Roger Federer. In the two previous editions of the tournament, Nadal had lost out to the Swiss maestro in the finals. While Federer was the top seed in the 2008 edition, Nadal was the second seed and the two again met in the summit clash.

Further, in one of the most memorable matches of his illustrious career, Nadal went on to defeat Federer in five sets to win his maiden Wimbledon title. Subsequently, Nadal revealed how he took inspiration from Arnold Schwarzenegger during the tournament.

Rafael Nadal on being inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Spanish legend, who happens to be a huge Arnold Schwarzenegger fan, once revealed that he warmed up for his third-round match against Nicolas Kiefer in 2008 Wimbledon by watching ‘The Terminator’.

Talking about this, he said, “Carlos Moya put it in my bag in Paris one day when we were shopping. He told me I had to watch it. A classic.” Nadal went on to defeat Kiefer in straight sets in the round-of-32 contest.

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Carlos Moya was a good friend of Nadal. The former was still playing on the tour back then. Later on, in 2017, Moya joined the coaching team of Nadal.

Why did Nadal withdraw from the National Bank Open?

Recently, the 36-year-old announced some grim news for his fans. Nadal pulled out of the National Bank Open in Montreal after failing to recover in time from his abdominal injury. Announcing his withdrawal, Nadal said, “After speaking with my doctor, we prefer to take things in a conservative way and give a few more days before starting to compete.”

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However, Nadal will hope to participate in the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati before the US Open. If the Spaniard manages to have a good US Open swing, there is a great chance for him to finish the year at the top of the ATP rankings. He is currently in the third spot behind Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev in the ATP rankings.